🎨 What color is your colleague?

[#1]

Does this sound crazy or is my colleague giving me red color all over place? You might find this funny, but it could certainly be true.

Just like people, colors tend to have a natural ambience and feeling to it. Red is usually associated with boldness, sharpness and it cannot go unnoticed. Yellow is a bright, happy color. Green is connected with nature and stability. Do you agree?

A Dutch company of researchers has developed a personality & behavior training that splits people into four main categories with different colors. Each color carries specific behavior traits that a person employs in the context of work but it is not only that simple. The training is called Mapstell and just like on the map of the world, each person lives on a different island that represent his traits.



The concept distinguishes people by whether they are introverted or extroverted, task or people oriented. You might have noticed how a colleague of your does not waste any time chitchatting and wants to get straight to the task at hand. That might feel heartless to people who love to have a chat with the group before moving forward with the task. Or have you noticed a colleague that cannot end the meeting without a clear plan for the next one? On the other hand that could be stressful for someone who likes to work more intuitively. It all makes sense once you know what traits each colleague carries and what they need in order to perform well and feel comfortable.

Give the demo version a try and “put yourself on the map”!

The lack of awareness of coworkers' personality and traits might cause irritation and stall the progress of a project. Understanding what makes someone or yourself tick prompts for pleasant synergy at the workplace. I completed this training a year ago and it was a huge revelation about my own behavior in a team and why I act or lead in a certain way. I no longer hold grudges over myself or others. I try to analyze their actions and assume what color they are. Then I only use this knowledge to make my colleagues feel seen and heard but definitely not misunderstood.

Here is what you need to know about each color category that is spread over in four quadrants:

• The red color / Decisive - a natural leader, who is not afraid to take risk, make decisions with certainty but could also be a bit rigid. The red color people are usually in management positions and are great at leading the team

• The yellow color / Influential- the start of the team, a person who makes the group laugh, operates with positivity but could also be great at distracting the team from working on a task.

• The green color / Stable- the nurturer of the group who is usually more quiet but very much cares about the wellbeing of the group.

• The blue color / Conscientious - the big planner who cannot move forward without a plan or clear structure. This person needs to have everything right before continuing.

My color is yellow which means I fall under the Influential category. In a work setting I usually swift between Mediator & Entertainer depending on the needs of my team. For me it was important to make a distinction between me and my colleagues because it reduced the misunderstanding caused by unspoken needs or perceptions about the working process.

Each of these traits can be beneficial once it is out of the dark and taken in as a strength rather than a weakness. Once my team and I knew our categories, we explored our perks and pet peeves in the context of work and moved our project along much more smoothly. When we needed a distraction, as a person operating in yellow color, I had plenty of jokes under my sleeve. When we needed to make a firm decision, we knew that my red colored colleague would be best at leading us through. And since we lacked the planning, our blue colored colleague came to the rescue with a structure that helped us succeed.

Having this knowledge about each person creates understanding and compassion towards your colleagues. Knowing what drives and motivates them is the secret to effective team cooperation.

What about you? Do you recognize yourself in one of the categories?

[Ben Dollinger]

Thanks for sharing this with us @ElenaK_NemetschekBG .
As I thought, my color is green, the Stable category. I am a carer and the map shows me very interesting things I can work on and work with.

[Jimmy Seddon]

Great post @ElenaK_NemetschekBG!  I'm pretty sure I've seen something similar in the past.  I'm pretty sure I'm very much in the green category.

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

I also appreciated reading this article this morning and taking the survey, @ElenaK_NemetschekBG !

I am (not surprisingly) in the blue category. 👍

[ElenaK_NemetschekBG]

@Ben Dollinger its great that you took the time to do the demo test! It really helps to know where you stand and how others might perceive you. 

[ElenaK_NemetschekBG]

@Jimmy Seddon thanks for engaging with my content! People in the green color are a great addition to the team! When yellow and red colored people tend to go chaotic, green put back the focus. 

[ElenaK_NemetschekBG]

@Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_ Thank you for taking the time to do the demo test. Maybe its fun to share it with one or two colleagues that you work with most of the time to see where they stand. 

[Amanda Barber]

This was a fun way to do a personality test! No big surprises for me, but I bet this would engage some of my coworkers who aren't typically engaged in this type of exploration of themselves and/or their teams!

[Nikki Zavadska _Appfire_]

Code red 🔴 I came out as a pioneer - although I suspect I'm a mix of blue and red 

[ElenaK_NemetschekBG]

@Amanda Barber Hi Amanda, thanks for sharing your point of you! Indeed its really fun to do it with colleagues and understand more about each other. We are planning to do the same in our team. 

[ElenaK_NemetschekBG]

@Nikki Zavadska _Appfire_ Hi Nikki! It is actually true that usually a person could be a mix of two colors. It also depends on the role that you take in a team. In teams where you lead, your red characteristics stand our more and on teams where someone else takes the lead, you might be inclined to be more in your blue zone and expect other things from your team. Thanks for engaging with my post!

[Bert van Dijk _TMC_nl_]

Thanks for sharing.